Walter Davis Jr.
piano
Walter Davis Jr. was a bebop pianist of Barry’s generation, known for his work with Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers; he came to Detroit looking for Barry, and Barry wrote a song for him.
- mentions
- 9
- recordings
- 7
- Barry speaking
- 8
What Barry says
Walter Davis was one of the out-of-town pianists, with Sonny Clark, who came to Detroit looking for Barry because they had heard about him.
The Spirit of Bebop25:44Interview: Detroit and after3:31Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶123
Introducing a song he wrote for musicians, Barry says he really wrote it first for Walter Davis, and that he also wrote one for Monk. On WKCR he recited his lyric for ‘To Walter Davis with Love’.
Artists House Master Class Barry Harris - Performance11:09Charles Davis memorial - Musical selection 22:00Barry Harris on WKCR-FM ¶83Barry Harris on WKCR-FM ¶84
Barry and Walter Davis both played on the soundtrack of Clint Eastwood’s film about Charlie Parker, playing along with Parker’s records with strings and a big orchestra. Barry was on ‘Laura’ and ‘April in Paris’; Davis played on some of the string tracks too.
Interview: Bird, Hawkins, Monk and New York4:295:02Barry Harris, Smithsonian Jazz Oral History Program ¶355
Working through a passage in class, Barry says Walter Davis was the only one he heard play it, and could play it all the way through. Walter had an ear Barry says he lacks: Barry cannot transcribe the way people do.
Barry heard recordings from 1952 with Walter Davis Jr. that sounded a lot like what his circle was playing in Detroit at the time: the same thing.
Barry places Walter Davis and Walter Bishop in his own generation of pianists, teenagers in the 1940s, whose music was a different thing from the stride of the 1930s, when the piano carried all the rhythm without a drummer.
The last train to Monk: an interview17:52
In his own words
This is a song that was written, it really was written for musicians. I really wrote it first for Walter Davis.
When they came – when musicians came to town, they came looking for me, you know. Sonny Clarke, Walter Davis, and they came to Detroit.
I heard some stuff from 1952 with Walter Davis Jr. ... that sounded a lot like we played in Detroit. It was the same thing that we were doing.
I never could play the whole thing... Walter Davis could play it all the way through. But Walter had an ear that I couldn’t... I can’t even transcribe, you know, like people do the transcribing.
I did part of the sound[track], me and Walter Davis did, too. We did part of the soundtrack for the Charlie Parker [film]. ... We played with Charlie Parker with strings with this great big orchestra.
Every mention
9 moments in the recordings, 8 of them Barry speaking. Each says who is talking.
Artists House Master Class Barry Harris - Performance
- 11:09
A song written for musicians was really written first for Walter Davis.
Charles Davis memorial - Musical selection 2
- 2:00
At Charles Davis’ memorial: the song was really written for Walter Davis; another for Monk.
Interview: Bird, Hawkins, Monk and New York
- 4:29
Barry and Walter Davis played on part of the soundtrack for the Charlie Parker film.
Practising the sixth diminished scales
The Spirit of Bebop
Interview: Detroit and after
- 3:31
Walter Davis was among the pianists who came to Detroit looking for its musicians.
The last train to Monk: an interview
- 17:52
Barry places Walter Davis and Walter Bishop in his generation of pianists who were teenagers in the 1940s.
In the interviews and notes
When musicians came to Detroit they looked for Barry; he names Sonny Clark and Walter Davis among those who came, as if someone had told them to look up the pianist there.
Clint Eastwood brought a group of jazz musicians to California to augment the strings for his film about Bird. Barry is on a few of the string tracks, Walter Davis on some, along with Monty Alexander and others.
On WKCR, after his tune ‘To Walter Davis with Love’ was played, Barry recited the lyric he wrote for it.
Barry hopes recordings of his circle’s Detroit jam sessions from about 1949 to 1952 will come out; he has heard 1952 recordings with Walter Davis Jr. that sound just like what they played in Detroit.
A forum post quotes Francis Paudras’ account of Bud Powell’s return to Birdland, where Barry, Walter Davis, Sam Jones and many others lined up to greet Bud.
jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Official Barry Harris Thread (jazzguitar.be forum thread) ¶835jazzguitar.be members (usernames kept per post), Official Barry Harris Thread (jazzguitar.be forum thread) ¶837
Recordings that name them
Barry’s performances and records in the archive that credit or name them.
- Barry Harris Trio (1997) First Time Ever2026, 58 min YouTube
- Walter Davis Jr./Barry Harris- Tempis Fugit2025, 8 min YouTube
- Walter Davis Jr./Barry Harris - Donna Lee2025, 9 min YouTube
- Barry Harris - 2019-10-02, Village Vanguard, New York, NYNew York City, 2008–19, 75 min YouTube
- Barry Harris Trio First Time Ever2021, 58 min YouTube
- Charles Davis memorial - Musical selection 22016, 8 min YouTube
- Barry Harris Trio - To Walter Davis Jr. with Love2014, 8 min YouTube
- Artists House Master Class Barry Harris - PerformanceNew York City, 2004, 39 min YouTube
Method ideas nearby
Ideas of the method taught in the classes where they come up, with how many mentions fall in each.